Shuttle



May 17, 1938. P RK 2,117,352

SHUTTLE Filed Sept. 19, 1936 35.-shuttle; to provide a wear-resistant delivery eye Patented May 17, 1938 UNiTED STATES SHUTTLE Carl P. Park, Manchester, N. 11., assignor to U S Bobbin & Shuttle Company, Manchester,

N. H., a corporation of Rhode Island Application September 19, 1936, Serial No. 101,630

10 Claims.

This invention pertains to weaving shuttles and relates more particularly to improved guiding and tensioning means for a shuttle of the self-threading type.

Uniformity of yarn tension is a very important desideratum for perfect weaving, but has been very difiicult of attainment, at least without serious interference with easy and automatic threading, and particularly when weaving wiry yarn or yarn which readily strands or separates into a plurality of filaments, both of which characteristics are common to yarns of the cellulose derivative type, for example, the yarn commonly known as rayon.

A further diffieulty experienced in Weaving wiry or hard-twisted yarn by the use of a selfthreading shuttle results from the tendency of such yarn to kink adjacent to the delivery eye of the shuttle, and in so kinking to twist and writhe in such a way as to escape from the shuttle eye.

Principal objects of the present invention are to provide self-threading tensioning and guiding means capable of exerting a substantially unii form and predetermined tension upon the yarn during both forward and reverse picks of the shuttle; to provide ready and accurate means for adjusting the degree of tension imposed upon the yarn and for maintaining the selected ten- :sion indefinitely; to provide tension means such that easy and certain self-threading is assured; to provide a delivery eye and associated parts such as to insure accurate entry of the yarn into the delivery grooves in the outer surface of the readily capable of replacement if broken or worn; and to provide improved means for securing the yarn guiding and tensioning block in the shuttle body without danger of affecting the 4 -1 predetermined yarn tension.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made manifest in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front side elevation of a weaving shuttle equipped with the improved guiding and tensioning means,-the shuttle being viewed from. the side at which the delivery eye is located;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the improved yarn guide block removed from the shuttle body;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the block shown .in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the tensioning block viewed from its forward end;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5 and indicating .the path of the yarn in broken lines;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section on the line 11 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are fragmentary side elevations of the tensioning block, to substantially the same scale as Fig. 8, illustrating various improved means for maintaining the adjustment of the tension; r

Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the tensioning screw of the device of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is an end elevation illustrating the tensioning screw of the devices of Figs. 9 and Fig. 14 is a side elevation of the yarn guide eyepiece removed from the guide block;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary horizontal section on the line l5-|5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary section through the shuttle, substantially on the line iii-l6 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a weaving shuttle, of the type commonly used in automatic looms, provided at its front end with a metal tip 2 in the usual way. The shuttle body is provided with a chamber 3 (Fig. 2) for the reception of the bobbin 4,-such chamber having a forward extension 5 for the reception of the thread guide block 6. This block may be of metal or any other suitable material commonly employed for the purpose,-the present invention being particularly concerned with improvements in this block and associated parts.

The front face 1 of the shuttle body is provided with the usual longitudinally extending shallow thread groove 8 (Fig. 1), having a forward extension comprising the parts 9 and 9*, said extension of the groove intersecting a laterally directed portion 5 of the chamber 5.

The block 6 has a substantially flat bottom surface it] which normally seats upon the fioor of the chamber 5 of the shuttle body, such block having the spaced side walls ii and 52 (Fig. 8) between which is a longitudinally extending portion E3 of the yarn guide passage. Near the entrance end of this passage a transverse pin or stud I4 extends from one wall to the other of the block. Preferably thus stud or pin is provided with an externally screw-threaded head l5 which engages a threaded bore in the side wall of the block (Fig. 8). This pin or stud [4 forms a support for a pair of tension plates [6 and 17 respectively, which are disposed face to face in a substantially vertical position, similarly to the tension plates disclosed in the patent to Comisky No. 1,378,837, dated May 24, 1921, for example, said tension plates having openings through which the stud M passes loosely. The upper ends of the plates l6 and H are bent outwardly substantially at right angles to the body portions of these plates, as shown at it for example, and the outer end portions of these parts are furnished with downwardly directed wings lt forming guide elements. These guide elements are arranged to slide loosely in wearresistant bushings H in openings in the side walls Ii and 52, respectively, of the block. The tension plates are thus free to move toward and from each other but at the same time are prevented frorn tilting excessively.

A coiled compression spring l9 bears against the left-hand surface (Fig. 8) of the plate l6, its outer end bearing against a screw-threaded stud 23 received in an opening in the wall ll of the block. Preferably the spring [9 bears against the plate It at a point about midway of the height of the latter, preferably slightly below where the projected axis of the bobbin would intersect the plate. A similar spring 2! bears against the right-hand or outer face of the plate I? at a point opposite to the spring IS. The outer end of the spring 2i is received in an axial pocket in a screw-threaded stud 22 engaging a screwthreaded opening in the wall l2 of the block. Preferably this stud 22 is provided with a polygonal socket 23 for the reception of. a wrench by means of which it may be turned, thereby to vary the resilient pressure exerted by the spring 2! against the plate l7, so as to adjust the tension upon the yarn which passes between the tension plates.

Preferably means is provided to retain the adjusting stud 22 in place after it has once been adjusted, so that the tension will not accidentally vary during the operation of the shuttle, in spite of the violent shocks to which the shuttle is subjected. For this purpose, as illustrated in Figs. 10 and 13, the screw-threaded peripheral surface of the stud 22 may be provided with flat surfaces or facets 24, preferably disposed symmetrically, as shown in Fig. 13. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 10, a flat bow spring 2 i is disposed within a horizontal bore 25 in the thickness of the wall l2 of the block, said bore intersecting the threaded opening which receives the stud 22, so that the central portion of the spring 2 1 resiliently bears upon the peripheral surface of the stud,normally contacting one of the facets 2t and thus holding the stud in adjusted position. although permitting it to be turned when sufficient force is applied by means of a wrench.

In Fig. 9 a slight modification is illustrated, wherein the spring 24 instead of being mounted in a bore in the block, is arranged in a horizontal slot or recess 25- in the outer surface of the wall l2 of the block.

A further modification of the tension-retaining means is illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. In this instance the stud 22 is furnished with spaced peripheral V notches 2 1 wlnle the block is provided with a spring 26 seated in a recess 21 in the rear edge of the wall l2, the spring being fixed in position at its lower end and having a tooth member 28 at its upper end which may engage any one of the notches 24 of the stud, thereby to hold the stud in adjusted position.

The block is furnished with a substantially horizontal guide pin 29 (Fig. 6) in the longitudinal portion it of the yarn passage and preferably at a point just forward of the tension plates l6 and ll, the pin 29 being at such an elevation that the projected axis of the bobbin lies substantially tangent to its upper surface. The block is also furnished with a substantially vertical guide pin 3i), which defines the junction between the longitudinal portion l3 of the thread passage and a transverse portion of said passage which leads to the thread delivery eye. The pins 29 and 38 may be of porcelain or any other suitable wear-resistant material.

The block 6 has a lateral extension 6 which is disposed in the extension of the chamber 5, such extension B having an outer vertical face fi which is substantially flush with the forward face i of the shuttle body. This extension is furnished with a horizontal channel 3!, whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the corresponding walls of the groove 9, 9 of the shuttle body. The extension i is provided with a vertical socket S (Fig. 15) which intersects the upper and lower walls of the channel 3!, and which is designed to receive an eyepiece 32 (Fig. 7). This eyepiece (Fig. 1 1) may be of porcelain, hardened alloy steel, nitrided steel, or the like, of a wear-resistant character, and has the yarn delivery eye 33, the axis of which is perpendicular to the axis of the shuttle and substantially tangent to that point of the guide post 355 at which the yarn Y leaves said post on its way to the delivery eye. The eyepiece 32 has a lower surface 34 (Fig. 14) which normally rests against the floor of the chamber 5 of the shuttle when the block is positioned within the chamber 5. However, the eyepiece 32 is freely removable from the block 6 when the latter is removed from the shuttle, and thus the eyepiece may readily be replaced if worn or broken, or if it be desired to substitute a block of different material or one having a delivery eye of different size or shape.

The eyepiece is furnished with a substantially vertical threading slot 35 at its lower part, one side of said slot being defined by the curved hornlike portion 36 of the eyepiece, such horn-like portion having an outer curved guiding face 31. The parts are so dimensioned that when the eyepiece is disposed in the socket in the block, the tip of the horn 3B is disposed below the lower wall 38 of the channel 3! (Fig. 4). As illustrated in Fig. 15, that part of the socket S which intersects the lower wall 38 of channel 3|, is beveled and widened at its forward end, as indicated at 39 in Fig. 15, so as to form a yarn-receiving clearance between the wall of the socket and the tip of horn 36, thereby to permit the yarn, in following the curved surface 31, to snap beneath the tip of the horn and then to move up through the slot 35 into the eye 33. However, it will be noted that when the thread has once entered the eye 33, it is substantially impossible for it to escape from said eye by moving in a downward direction, since the lower wall surface 38 of the channel 3i lies above the tip of the horn, and since there is no guide surface leading from the eye 33 which would assist the yarn in moving downwardly and out from beneath the tip of the horn. Thus no matter how much the yarn may kink or writhe during the operation of the shuttle, it is substantially impossible for it to escape from the shuttle eye, although, in threading, the yarn easily enters the eye.

The block 6 is provided with the usual forwardly directed guard member 40 and with the beak 4| having the narrow tip 42 which underlies the guard 40. The under surface of the beak 4| is smoothly finished and extends downwardly and laterally from the tip 42 toward the curved guide surface 31 of the eyepiece 32. As illustrated, this beak M is wholly devoid of any downwardly directed projections, horns or other elements to impede the yarn in its downward and lateral movement.

In jthreading, during the first pick of the shuttle, which is to the left, as viewed in Figs 1 and 2, the yarn being held at its free extremity is drawn downwardly into the longitudinal portion I3 of the thread passage, it being noted that this slot is freely open throughout its length, and that the surfaces 44 and 45 at the opposite sides of this slot are smoothly sloped so as to guide the yarn toward the open entrance to the passage as it is drawn taut lengthwise of the shuttle. It may further be noted that the entrance of the yarn between the tension plates l6 and I1 is facilitated by the outward curvature of these plates Where they merge with the parts I 6 so that upon this first pick the yarn is with certainty laid into the longitudinal portion of the passage and enters between the tension plates, where it is supported by the guide pin 29. Normally, near the end of this pick, the yarn snaps down beneath the guard and under the tip 42 of the beak 4|. Upon the second pick, when the shuttle moves to the right (as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2) the yarn swings laterally and slides easily down along the under surface 43 of the beak, and, meeting no obstruction whatever, quickly contacts with the outer curved surface of the horn 31 and is guided by the latter so as to pass the tip of the horn and enter the slot 35 and the eye 33, being new .drawn around the post 30.

Since the axis of the guide eye 33 is substantially tangent to that point of the post 30 at which the yarn leaves the latter, and is also perpendicular to the axis of the shuttle, and since the axis of the guide eye 33 is also substantially midway between the upper and lower walls of the channel 3!, it is evident that as the shuttle is picked back and forth, the yarn which emerges from the guide eye leads away from the shuttle at the same angle whether the shuttle be moving in one direction or the other. Thus the tension devices encounter substantially the same resistance to movement of the yarn, whether the shuttle be moving in one direction or the other, and thus it is possible to obtain a more constant tension and more even weaving than is usually the case.

In order to hold the block 6 in position, but without affecting the tension after the latter has once been adjusted, it is preferred to employ the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 16. As thus shown, the block 6 is furnished with a transverse screw-threaded opening for the reception of the screw-threaded shank portion 46 of a retaining screw having a screw-threaded head portion 41' of larger diameter than the shank portion 46 but preferably threaded with the same pitch thread as the latter. This threaded head portion il engages a screw-threaded bore in the body I of the shuttle, but the opposite end 48 of the screw freely enters an unthreaded bore of the shuttle body. The screw is of a length less than the thickness of the shuttle so that the screw does not project through to the forward face of the shuttle. With this arrangement, no matter how hard the screw may be set up, it does not tend to draw together the side walls of the shuttle body and thereby pinch the guide block so as to change the setting of the tension devices carried by the latter. It has been found that in prior constructions, where the screw for holding the block in position extends all of the way through the shuttle body, and is provided with means such as a nut, for tightening it, the Wood of the shuttle is so squeezed against the guide block as to change the setting of the tension. The present invention avoids any such action.

With my arrangement it is thus possible to adjust the tension very delicately, as by means of the screw-threaded stud 22, with the assurance that the tension thus once set will not be varied either by reason of the sharp blows and shocks to which the shuttle is subjected during use, or by any manipulations necessary for fixing the block within the shuttle body. It should further be noted that since the screw which holds the block in position does not extend through the forward face of the shuttle, the latter is left smooth and unbroken and there is no danger that the yarn will be caught or abraded by contact with the end of the screw or by rubbing across the end of an open bore in the shuttle body.

In practice it has been found that the improved guide block with its associated parts permits yarn to be entered into the delivery eye with the greatest ease and certainty so that proper threading of the shuttle is substantially assured after the second pick. It has further been found that with this arrangement rayon or similar yarns of very slippery and wiry nature, may readily be woven and the tension maintained very accurately even without recourse to the fur tension which has commonly been thought necessary to use in weaving yarns of this character. It has further been found that even in weaving such wiry yarns as those above noted and which tend to kink and writhe in the shuttle eye, there is substantially no possibility of unthreading of the shuttle accidentally by reason of such action of the yarn, while, as above noted, the symmetrical delivery of the yarn to and from the shuttle eye assists in maintaining a uniform tension. Moreover, the eyepiece may easily be removed and replaced when desired merely by removing the block from the shuttle body,-permitting the eye to drop from the block, and then reinsertihg the new eye from the bottom of the block, all without the necessity of using tools or special instruments designed for the purpose.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, but that all equivalents are to be regarded as falling within the purview of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a weaving shuttle, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said guide block having therein a substantially horizontal yarn delivery channel in its outer face extending longitudinally of the shuttle and a removable eyepiece carried by the block and having therein a yarn delivery eye which opens outwardly into said channel, said eyepiece having a threading slot leading to the eye, one wall of the threading slot being defined by a curved horn having an outer yarn guiding surface, the free end of the horn being disposed below the lower wall of the yarn delivery chan nel, thereby to prevent accidental escape of yarn from the eye.

2. In combination with a weaving shuttle, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said guide block having therein a substantially horizontal yarn delivery channel, and an eyepiece carried by the block and having therein a yarn delivery eye which opens into said channel, said eyepiece having a threading slot leading upwardly to the eye, one wall of the threading slot being defined by a curved yarn guiding horn having an outer curved surface, the free end of the horn dipping down into a cavity in the lower wall of said delivery channel and V terminating below the plane of said wall, thereby to prevent accidental escape of yarn from the eye.

3. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block having therein a channel whose upper and lower Walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, and a yarn delivery eyepiece disposed within the block, said eyepiece having an eye whose axis is substantially midway between the upper and lower walls of said channel.

4. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block. having therein a channel whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, and a removable eyepiece carried by the block, said eyepiece having therein a yarn delivery eye whose axis is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the shuttle.

5. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block having therein a channel whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, and an eyepiece seated in the block, said eyepiece having therein a delivery eye disposed with its axis substantially perpendicular to the grooved face of the shuttle, the eyepiece having a threading slot at its lower part, one side of said slot being defined by a horn whose free end is below the lower wall of the channel.

6. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block having therein a channel whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, the block also having a socket which intersects the bottom wall of said channel, and an eyepiece mounted in the block, said eyepiece having therein a delivery eye whose axis is intermediate the top and bottom walls of the channel, the lower portion of the eyepiece being disposed in the aforesaid socket, said eyepiece having a threading slot, one side of which is defined by a curved horn whose free end is disposed below the plane of the lower wall of the channel.

7. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block having therein a channel whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, the block also having a substantially vertical socket which intersects both the upper and lower walls of the channel, and an eyepiece fitting within said socket, said eyepiece having therein a delivery eye provided with a threading slot whose entrance end is below the plane of the lower wall of the channel, the socket and eyepiece being so relatively designed and arranged as to provide a narrow space through which a yarn may reach the entrance to said slot, the eyepiece having an external guide surface shaped to direct the yarn into said space.

8. In combination with a weaving shuttle having a longitudinally extending yarn guide groove in its front face, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having an outer surface substantially flush with the grooved face of the shuttle, said outer face of the block having therein a channel whose upper and lower walls are substantially aligned with the upper and lower walls respectively of the groove in the shuttle, the block also having a substantially vertical socket which intersects both the upper and lower walls of the channel, and which is open at the lower surface of the block, and an eyepiece removably fitting within said socket and having a yarn delivery eye whose axis is in a plane intermediate the top and bottom of said channel.

9. A self-threading shuttle of the kind wherein a yarn guide block is seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having a yarn passage comprising a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion, the longitudinal portion being freely open at its top to receive the yarn, a guard member at the forward end of the block, and a beak having its tip underlying the guard member, said beak having a smooth under surface extending downwardly and laterally from its tip, characterized in having a removable eyepiece of wearresistant material normally seated in a socket in the block, said eyepiece having a guide eye whose axis is substantially coincident with that of the transverse portion of the yarn passage and having a threading slot leading upwardly into the eye, and in having a guide surface forming a continuation of said under surface of the beak arranged to direct the yarn downwardly toward the entrance to the threading slot.

10. In combination in a self-threading shuttle, a yarn guide block seated in a chamber in the shuttle body, said block having a yarn passage including a longitudinal portion and a transverse portion, the block having an eyepiece receiving socket, a removable eyepiece of wear-resistant material normally seated in said socket, said eyepiece having a yarn delivery eye terminating the transverse portion of the passage, the eyepiece having a threading slot leading upwardly into the eye and also having a thread guiding horn provided with a curved surface leading toward the entrance of the threading slot, a guard member at the forward end of the block, and a beak having its tip underlying but spaced from the guard member to permit entry of the yarn between them, the beak being devoid of downwardly directed projections and having a smoothly curved, laterally extending under surface operative to guide the entering yarn into contact with the curved surface of the guiding horn of the eyepiece.

CARL P. PARK. 

